Earlier quoted context omitted.
Popluation density doesn't completely explain it. For instance here in Sweden we also have 100Mbps Internet-connection for about $20-$30/month and flat-rate 3g data-plans and we aren't exactly densily populated (#192 in the world according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population... ). Here I think it has a lot to do with the fact that government has been pushing a lot for better IT-i…
And here in Canada we pay 30$/MB for over-the-air data, and a 5Mb (that's mega-bit, not byte) internet connection is almost 50$ per month. That's also pretty much the fastest you can get even in the capital (Ottawa). God I feel like I'm living in a third-world country.
Although, now there's one cable ISP that offers 110/5Mbit/s for around 70 Canadian dollars per month.
That's basically the only operator interested in advancing things.